Edith Wharton
In this section, Lily's obligations to Trenor become painfully apparent and she decides to seek out Gerty Farish who we later learn had just previously decided to despise her.
I'm still not sure that sentence makes sense.
At the beginning of the story, the two women could hardly appear to be any more dissimilar. While Lily lived a rather glamorous life with her wealthy aunt who gave her anything she needed, Gerty lived in her own flat learning to utilize the little she had to its full potential. Even more, Lily seemed to be disgusted by this disparity: Lily believed that wealth must be hoarded and showcased as a sign of dignity while Gerty chose to use the money she had for philanthropy. Lily even noted "that Gerty had always been a parasite in the moral order, living on the crumbs of other tables, and content to look through the window at the banquet spread for her friends" (Wharton, 121). The inner mechanics of their minds vastly differed. Lily always developed some scheme in her mind to anticipate and neutralize the unseen threats in another's character whereas Gerty spent little effort questioning motives and made rather simplistic characterizations.
Ironically, the two women's differences offered a chance for connection. Both women grew more complex as the story unfolded. First of all, Lily's provincial view on the role of wealth in one's status widened when she made a donation to Gerty's charity, and, likewise, Gerty gained an appreciation of Lily's extravagance during the Welly Brys spectacle. Shortly before Lily arrived at Gerty's flat, Gerty's simplistic praise of Lily and Gerty's cousin Selden, who had come for dinner to gain more knowledge of Lily, became more complex. Usually, any attention at all would brighten the day of Gerty who was commonly viewed as dull. However, she began to question Selden's motives and surmised that Selden had no concern for her when he came to dinner, only for Lily. Similarly, after Trenor demanded more than money from Lily, Lily's guard dropped and she placed her trust totally in the hands of Gerty without even giving any thought to Gerty's newly found disdain for Lily.
Although both women seemed to adopt the other's characteristics, similarity comes from the women's ability to grow and become round characters (AP Lit version of product placement). By showing how these two women gravitate towards the other's seemingly opposite way of life, Wharton promotes the idea that a happy middle ground can be found between over-the-top extravagance and the life of an ascetic. Most importantly, the women's greatest similarity is one of the main themes of the work: the desire to stand out as an individual and be appreciated for doing so.
No comments:
Post a Comment